Bar storage apparatus

ABSTRACT

A bar storage apparatus comprises: a shelf frame (19) provided with a plurality of pallet accommodating shelves (17) each for movably accommodating a pallet (15) on which a plurality of bars are mounted; an elevator device (23) disposed on one side of the shelf frame so as to be movable up and down and provided with a traverser (21) for moving each pallet into and from each of the pallet accommodating shelves; and a bar supplying device (25) for supplying a bar, mounted on the pallet moved from the pallet accommodating shelf and further located at a predetermined position by the elevator device, to a bar processing machine (3). The bar storage apparatus can store a great number of bars of various kinds and various dimensions, select any required bars from a great number of bars, and supply the selected bars to a bar processing machine easily and quickly.

This is divisional of application Ser. No. 08/073,063 filed on Jun. 8,1993, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,427,490.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a bar storage apparatus for storingbars to be supplied to a bar processing machine such as a sawingmachine, and more specifically to a bar storage apparatus capable ofstoring a great number of bars of various sorts and further offacilitating conveyance of any required bars into and out of the barprocessing machine.

2. Description of the Prior Art

As the prior arts related to the present invention, there are suchdocuments as U.S. Pat. No. 4,362,454; Laid-Open German Patent No. DE4,018,139-A1; and PCT/JP92/00061 (filed by the same Applicant).

In prior art bar storage apparatuses for storing various bars to besupplied to the bar processing machine such as the sawing machine, asdisclosed in the above-mentioned documents, a roller conveyer isarranged on the rear side of the bar processing machine; and a chainconveyer is disposed along a direction perpendicular to the bar feedingdirection of the roller conveyer; and bars to be processed are mountedon the chain conveyer in accordance with the order of processing.

In the above-mentioned construction, when the chain conveyer is driven,bars mounted on the chain conveyer are conveyed in sequence onto theroller conveyer, and further into the bar processing machine by theroller conveyer, so that it is possible to realize an unmanned barprocessing system.

In the prior art construction as described above, however, since barsmust be mounted previously on the chain conveyer in sequence, andfurther the arrangement of bars is of two-dimensional way (which isbecause bars are arranged on the chain conveyer), there exists a problemin that it is difficult to store a great number of bars.

To overcome the above-mentioned problem, a construction for storing barsin three-dimensional way has been proposed.

In the prior art construction for storing bars in three-dimensional way,however, since bars are directly mounted on each of a plurality ofshelves, bars must be conveyed into and out of the respective shelves byuse of a conveying machine such as a ceiling crane or a gantry crane.Consequently, in the above-mentioned prior art construction, although agreat number of bars can be stored, there exists another problem in thatthe whole construction is large in size and further it take a relativelylong time to convey bars to and from the bar processing machine.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

With these problems in mind, therefore, it is the first object of thepresent invention to provide a bar storage apparatus capable of storinga great number of bars of various kinds, of selecting any required barsfrom a great number of bars, and of easily supplying the selected barsto a bar processing machine.

The second object of the present invention is to provide a bar storageapparatus of capable of supplying bars to a bar processing machinequickly.

To achieve the above-mentioned objects, the present invention provides abar storage apparatus comprising: a shelf frame provided with aplurality of pallet accommodating shelves each for movably accommodatinga pallet on which a plurality of bars are mounted; an elevator devicedisposed on one side of said shelf frame so as to be movable up and downand provided with a traverser for moving each pallet into and from eachof the pallet accommodating shelves; and a bar supplying device forsupplying a bar, mounted on the pallet moved from the palletaccommodating shelf and further located at a predetermined position bysaid elevator device, to a bar processing machine.

The pallet preferably has a lattice structure.

Further, the pallet is preferably provided with a plurality of verticalrollers for partitioning bar mounting positions, and said bar supplyingdevice is slightly inclined to shift the bar into contact with thevertical rollers. Alternatively, the pallet may be formed with grooveseach for stably supporting the bar.

Yet further, the bar supplying device is preferably provided with aplurality of bar feeding rollers for lifting a bar relative to thepallet located at the predetermined position and further for feeding thebar in a longitudinal direction of the bar, each of said bar feedingrollers being formed with a circumferential groove for guiding the barin the longitudinal direction thereof.

Still further, a pallet support table is preferably disposed on one sideof said shelf frame opposite to the other side on which said elevatordevice is disposed, to support the pallet moved by said elevator device,the pallet support table being provided with a second traverser formoving the pallet.

Additionally, the bar supplying device preferably includes a bar liftingdevice for lifting a bar on the pallet located at the predeterminedposition, and a bar feeding device for receiving the bar lifted by saidbar lifting device and further feeding the received bar in alongitudinal direction of the bar, wherein the bar supplying deviceincludes a plurality of push rods aligned in a longitudinal direction ofthe bar to be supplied and spaced from each other by a suitabledistance, each push rods being adapted to be moved in the verticaldirection independently of each other.

Furthermore, the bar supplying device preferably includes a bar liftingdevice for lifting the bar mounted on the pallet located at thepredetermined position, a bar conveying device for receiving the barlifted by said bar lifting device and further conveying the received barin a direction perpendicular to bar longitudinal direction, and a barfeeding device for receiving the bar from said bar conveying device andfurther feeding the received bar in the bar longitudinal direction,wherein the bar conveying device includes a first bar supporting portionfor supporting a new bar, and a second bar supporting portion forsupporting a residual bar.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an overall cutting processingsystem including the bar storage apparatus according to the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a front cross-sectional view showing a first embodiment of thebar storage apparatus of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a plane view showing the first embodiment of the bar storageapparatus shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view showing the bar supplying device of the barstorage apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a front cross-sectional view showing a second embodiment ofthe bar storage apparatus of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view showing the bar supplying device of a thirdembodiment of the bar storage apparatus of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged view showing the bar supplying device of a fourthembodiment of the bar storage apparatus of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged view showing the bar supplying device of a fifthembodiment of the bar storage apparatus of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is an enlarged view showing the bar supplying device of a sixthembodiment of the bar storage apparatus of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is an enlarged view showing the bar supplying device of aseventh embodiment of the bar storage apparatus of the presentinvention;

FIG. 11 is an enlarged view showing the bar supplying device of aneighth embodiment of the bar storage apparatus of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is an enlarged view showing the bar supplying device of a ninthembodiment of the bar storage apparatus of the present invention;

FIG. 13 is an enlarged view showing the bar supplying device of a tenthembodiment of the bar storage apparatus of the present invention;

FIG. 14 is an enlarged view showing the bar supplying device of aneleventh embodiment of the bar storage apparatus of the presentinvention;

FIG. 15 is an enlarged view showing the bar supplying device of atwelfth embodiment of the bar storage apparatus of the presentinvention; and

FIG. 16 is an enlarged view showing the bar supplying device of athirteenth embodiment of the bar storage apparatus of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

To facilitate understanding of the present invention, an overallconstruction of a cutting processing system to which a bar storageapparatus according to the present invention is applied will be firstdescribed hereinbelow.

With reference to FIG. 1, the bar storage apparatus 1 of the presentinvention is disposed on the rear side of a bar processing machine 3such as a band sawing machine. On the front side of this bar processingmachine 3, a cut-off workpiece conveying apparatus 5 is disposed toconvey workpieces W cut off by the bar processing machine 3 from thecutting position of the bar processing machine 3 to the front side.

The bar processing machine 3 is an ordinary well-known band sawingmachine or a circular sawing machine, so that any detailed descriptionsthereof are omitted.

The cut-off workpiece conveying apparatus 5 is provided with suchfunctions as to convey the cut-off workpieces W in the forward directionand further to sort and arrange the cut-off workpieces W according tothe shapes and the dimensions thereof.

To achieve the above-mentioned functions, in the cut-off workpiececonveying apparatus 5, a carriage 9 provided with a work clamp 7 forclamping the cut-off workpieces W is disposed along a guide frame 11 soas to be movable to and fro in the front and rear direction. Further, onone side of the passage along which the carriage 9 is moved to and fro,a stock table 13 is arranged to store the cut-off workpieces Wtemporarily.

Therefore, the cut-off workpieces W cut off by the bar processingmachine 3 are conveyed in the forward direction and further storedtemporarily on the stock table 13 according to the shapes and dimensionsof the cut-off workpieces W.

The cut-off workpieces W arranged on the stock table 13 areappropriately carried to another machine tool such as a lathe for thesucceeding process.

Further, since being well known, the cut-off workpiece conveyingapparatus 5 is not described in detail herein.

As understood above, In the above-mentioned cutting processing system,it is possible to automatize the bar material cutting processing, bysupplying various bar materials automatically to the bar processingmachine 3 and further by storing the cut-off processed barsautomatically as occasion demands, thus enabling the labor saving invarious bar material cutting processing.

In the cutting processing system as described above, the bar storageapparatus of the present invention is so constructed as to store a greatnumber of bars of various kinds and various dimensions to be supplied tothe bar processing machine 3, to supply any required bars from thestorage position to the bar processing machine 3, and further to returnthe residual bars to the storage position.

In more detail, with reference to FIG. 2, the bar storage apparatus 1 iscomposed roughly of a shelf frame 19, an elevator device 23 and a barsupplying device 25. The shelf frame 19 is provided with a plurality ofpallet accommodating shelves 17 each for removably accommodating apallet 15 on which a plurality of elongate bars B (including theshortened residual bars) are mounted. An elevator device 23 is disposedon one side of the shelf frame 19 so as to be movable up and down in thevertical direction and provided with a traverser 21 for moving thepallet 15 to and fro horizontally relative to the pallet accommodatingshelf 17. The bar supplying device 25 supplies any required bar Barranged on the pallet 15 pulled out of the pallet accommodating shelf17 and located at a predetermined position by the elevator device 23, tothe bar processing machine 3.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the pallet 15 is formed into an elongatelattice structure or shape extending in the front and rear direction bycombining belt-shaped plates. On both sides of the longitudinaldirection of the pallet 15, a plurality of rollers 27 are rotatablyarranged to move the pallet 15 smoothly.

Further, on one side of the right and left direction of the pallet 15, ahook 29 engageable from below is provided. In addition, on the uppersurface of the pallet 15, a plurality of vertical partition rollers 31are arranged to partition the bar mounting space into plural barmounting sections in the transverse direction (perpendicular to thelongitudinal direction of bars).

The shelf frame 19 is of parallelepiped structure constructed by aplurality of upright columns 33 standing at the corner portions of thebase and a plurality of horizontal connecting beams 35 for connectingthe respective upright columns 33. Further, the pallet shelf 17 ispartitioned into a plurality of vertical stages by a plurality of palletsupport rails 37 for connecting the respective upright columns 33 in theright and left direction.

To move each of the pallets 15 into and out of each of the palletaccommodating shelves provided for the shelf frame 19, the elevatordevice 25 is disposed on the left side of the shelf frame 19 so as to bemovable up and down.

As shown In FIG. 3, the elevator device 23 is of rectangular shapeformed by connecting two front and rear elevator bases 41 by aconnecting member 43. The two front and rear elevator bases 41 areguided in the vertical direction by a plurality of guide rollers 39rotatable along the upright columns 33 of the shelf frame 19.

An elevator operating device 45 is disposed on the upper portion of theshelf frame 19, in order to move the elevator device 23 in the verticaldirection along the upright columns 33 of the shelf frame 19, as shownin FIG. 2

In more detail, a drive sprocket 47 is rotatably attached to the upperportion of the shelf frame 19, and a driven sprocket 49 is rotatablyattached to the lower portion of the shelf frame 19. Further, aloop-shaped chain 51 linked with the elevator device 23 is reeled aroundthe drive sprocket 47 and the driven sprocket 49, respectively.

An elevator motor 53 and a reduction gear 55 such as a worm reductiongear are mounted on the upper portion of the shelf frame 19. Theelevator motor 53 and the reduction gear 55 are linked by an endlesschain 57.

In the above-mentioned structure, when the elevator motor 53 is driven,the drive sprocket 47 is rotated in the forward and reverse directionsthrough the reduction gear 55 and the endless chain 57, so that theelevator device 23 is moved up and down by the chain 51 in the verticaldirection along the upright columns 33.

The elevator device 23 can be easily stopped at a height positioncorresponding to the respective pallet accommodating shelf 17 of theshelf frame 19 as follows:

For instance, appropriate sensors (not shown) or dogs are attached atthe respective positions of the respective pallet accommodating shelves17 of the shelf frame 19. Further, the similar dog or sensor is attachedon the elevator device 23 in such a way that the vertical motion of theelevator device 23 can be stopped when the sensor is operated by thedog.

Further, alternately, it is also possible to mount a rotation detector(not shown) such as a pulse encoder, for instance on the drive sprocket47 or the elevator motor 53. In this case, when the rotation detectordetects the vertical position of the elevator device 23, that is, whenthe elevator device 23 is moved to a height corresponding to anyrequired pallet accommodating shelf 17, the vertical motion of theelevator device 23 is stopped automatically.

In other words, it is possible to adopt various methods of stopping theelevator device 23 at any required vertical positions corresponding tothe required pallet accommodating shelves of the shelf frame 19.

The traverser 21 for pulling out the pallet 15 from the palletaccommodating shelf 17 to the elevator device 23 and further forreturning the pallet 15 from the elevator device 23 to the palletaccommodating shelf 17 can be constructed as follows:

As shown in FIG. 3, the traverser 21 is formed into a long shapeextending in the front and rear direction. On both sides of thelongitudinal direction of the traverser 21, a plurality of guide rollers61 are rotatably arranged so as to be guided by two guide rails 59attached to the elevator device 23.

Further, a rotary shaft 65 driven by a motor 63 is provided for thetraverser 21 so as to extend in the front and rear direction. Twopinions 67 are attached to both ends of the rotary shaft 65. The twopinions 67 are in mesh with two racks 69 provided for the elevatordevice 23 so as to extend in parallel to the guide rails 56,respectively.

Accordingly, when the motor 63 is driven, the traverser 21 can be movedto and fro along the guide rails 59.

The traverser 21 is provided with a hook 71 movable up and down so as tobe engaged with or disengaged from the hook 29 of the pallet 15. In moredetail, an actuator 73 such as an air cylinder is mounted on thetraverser 21 to move the hook 71 up and down. Therefore, when thisactuator 73 is actuated, the hook 71 can be moved up and down intoengagement or disengagement from the hook 29 of the pallet 15.

By the construction as described above, after the elevator device 23 hasbeen located at any height position corresponding to the required palletaccommodating shelf 17, the motor 63 is driven to move the traverser 21close to the pallet 15 in the pallet accommodating shelf 17; theactuator (cylinder) 73 is actuated to engage the hook 71 of thetraverser 21 with the hook 29 of the pallet 15; and then the motor 63 isdriven in the reverse direction to return the traverser 21 to theoriginal position, so that it is possible to move any given pallet 15from any required pallet accommodating shelf 17 onto the elevator device23.

As understood already, it is of course possible to return the pallet 15from the elevator device 23 to any required pallet accommodating shelf17.

As described above after the required pallet 15 has been pulled out fromthe pallet accommodating shelf 17 of the shelf frame 19 onto theelevator device 23 and further moved down at the lowest position asshown in FIG. 2, the bar supplying device 25 is used to supply anyrequired bar B on the pallet 15 to the bar processing machine 3. Asshown in FIG. 2, the bar supplying apparatus 25 is disposed on the rightside of the shelf frame 19.

In FIG. 2, since the elevator device 23 is disposed on the left side ofthe shelf frame 19 and further the bar supplying device 25 is disposedon the right side of the shelf frame 19, the pallet 15 on the elevatordevice 23 must be moved to the bar supplying device 25.

Therefore, a pallet passing shelf 17L is formed at the lowermostposition of the shelf frame 19, to pass the pallet 15 therethrough inthe right and left direction in FIG. 2. In more detail, the palletpassing shelf 17L is provided with two guide rails 75 and two racks 77(as shown in FIG. 3) operationally connectable to the guide rails 59 andthe racks 69 of the elevator device 23, respectively, when the elevatordevice 23 is positioned at the same height as the pallet passing shelf17L.

Accordingly, it is possible to move the traverser 21 from the elevatordevice 23 through the pallet passing shelf 17L, so that the pallet 15can be moved through the pallet passing shelf 17L.

Further, in order to support the pallet 15 moved from the elevatordevice 23 through the pallet passing shelf 17L, a pallet support table79 is installed on the right side of the shelf frame 19 of framestructure, as shown in FIG. 2. The pallet support table 79 is providedwith two guide rails 79R operationally connectable to the two guiderails 75 of the pallet passing shelf 17L, as shown also in FIG. 3.

As shown in FIG. 2, the bar supplying device 25 is disposed within thepallet support table 79, In order to supply the bar B mounted on thepallet 15 supported on the pallet support table 79 to the bar processingmachine 3.

That is, as shown in FIG. 1, the bar supplying device 25 is installed onthe rear side of the bar processing machine 3 so that the bar B can bedirectly supplied to the bar processing machine 3.

In more detail, with reference to FIG. 4, the bar supplying device 25 isprovided with a lifting frame 81 extending in the front and reardirection (the supply direction of the bar B).

The lifting frame 81 can be moved up and down by an appropriate numberof lifting cylinders 83 arranged in the bar supply direction. On theupper surface of the lifting frame 81, a plurality of vertical brackets85 which can pass through the partitions of the pallet 15 of latticestructure in the vertical direction are arranged at regular intervals.Further, a bar feeding roller 87 for lifting and further feeding the barB on the pallet 15 in the front and rear direction is rotatably providedat the upper portion of each of the vertical brackets 85.

In more detail, as shown in FIG. 4, the lifting frame 81 is providedwith a plurality of chain sprockets 89 linked with a bar feeding motor(not shown). These sprockets 89 are linked with a sprocket 91 attachedto the bar feeding roller 87 via a chain 93. Further, the bar feedingroller 87 is inclined slightly at an appropriate angle as shown in FIG.4.

Accordingly, when the lifting cylinders 83 are actuated to move thelifting frames 81 upward respectively, the bar B on the pallet 15 can bemoved up by the bar feeding rollers 87 of the respective lifting frames81. Here, since the bar feeding roller 87 is inclined slightly, the barB moved up can be supported by the bar feeding rollers 87 and thepartition rollers 31 vertically disposed on the pallet 15.

As described above, when the bar B is being pushed up by the bar feedingrollers 87, and the bar feeding motor is driven to rotate the barfeeding rollers 87, the bar B is fed and supplied toward the barprocessing machine 3.

As understood already, in this embodiment, it is possible to select anyrequired bar B on the pallet 15 and further to supply the selected bar Bto the bar processing machine 3, by adjusting the position of the pallet15 relative to the bar supplying device 25 in the right and leftdirection in FIG. 2. Further, it is also possible to return a residualbar processed by the bar processing machine 3 onto the pallet 15 forstorage again.

Further, when the bar B on the pallet 15 is being processed by the barprocessing machine 3 after having been supplied, it is possible toreturn the traverser 21 onto the elevator device 23 by disengaging thehook 71 of the traverser 21 from the hook 29 of the pallet 15.

Therefore, when the bar B supported by the pallet 15 on the palletsupport table 79 is being processed, it is possible to pull out an emptypallet 15, for instance from an appropriate pallet accommodating shelf17 onto the elevator device 23 and then lower the elevator device, inorder to replenish the empty pallet 15 with new bars. In this way, it ispossible to prepare, in the shelf frame 19, the bars B to be processednext.

As described above, in the first embodiment 1 of the bar storageapparatus of the present invention, a great number of bars of variouskinds can be stored; any required bars can be selected and supplied tothe bar processing machine 3 automatically; and further the residual barprocessed by the bar processing machine 3 can be stored again. Inaddition, after the pallet 15 has been moved onto the pallet supporttable 79 and further any required bar B has been supplied to the barprocessing machine 3, the shelf frame 19 can be replenished with newbars B during a processing being effected in the bar B, thus enablingthe automatization and the labor saving of the bar processing.

With reference to FIG. 5, the second embodiment of the bar storageapparatus according to the present invention will be describedhereinbelow. In this second embodiment, the bar supplying device 25 isarranged inside the shelf frame 19 so as to correspond to the barprocessing machine 8. Since the construction other than above is thesame as with the case of the first embodiment, the same referencenumerals have been retained for the similar parts or elements which havethe same functions, without repeating any detailed description thereof.

In this second embodiment, since the bar supplying device 25 isinstalled inside the shelf frame 19, it is possible to reduce the sizeof the overall system construction and thereby to reduce the spacenecessary therefor.

With reference to FIG. 6, the third embodiment of the bar storageapparatus according to the present invention will be describedhereinbelow. In this third embodiment, the axis of the bar feedingroller 87 of the bar supplying device 25 is set horizontally (withoutbeing inclined slightly as in the first embodiment), and in addition thebar feeding roller 87 is replaced with a groove roller formed with agroove 87G in the outer circumferential surface thereof. Further, thepallet 15 is also formed with V grooves 15G for stably supporting thebars B, without using the vertical partition rollers 31.

In this third embodiment, even if the diameter of the bar B changes,since the bar B can be supported stably by the circumferential grooves87G of the bar feeding rollers 87, it is possible to feed the bar B atthe central position of the bar feeding rollers 87. In addition, it ispossible to simplify the construction of the pallet 15 in the number ofthe parts.

FIG. 7 shows the fourth embodiment of the bar storage apparatus of thepresent invention. In this fourth embodiment, the second embodimentshown in FIG. 5 is further improved. That is, the pallet 15 is providedwith two hooks 29 on both right and left sides of the pallet 15, andfurther a second traverser 21A is additionally provided on the palletsupport table 79 so as to be freely movable to and fro in the right andleft direction.

The second traverser 21A is arranged on the pallet support table 79 insymmetrical positional relationship with respect to the traverser 21arranged on the elevator device 23. Since the function and the composingelements of the second traverser are the same as with the case of thetraverser 21 of the first embodiment, the same reference numerals havebeen retained for the similar parts or elements, without repeating anydetailed description thereof.

In the fourth embodiment, after the traverser 21 has moved the pallet 15from the elevator device 23 to the pallet support table 79 andthereafter has been returned to the elevator device 23 (by disengagingthe hook 71 of the traverser 21 from the hook 29 of the pallet 15), itis possible to further move the pallet 15 on the pallet support table 79by the second traverser 21A in the right and left directions.

Accordingly, it is possible to use the first traverser 21 only to movethe pallet 15 between one of the pallet accommodating shelves 17 and thepallet support table 79, while using the second traverser 21A only tolocate the pallet 15 on the pallet support table 79 at an appropriateposition corresponding to the bar processing machine 3.

In other words, two different works can be effected simultaneously bythe first and second traverser 21, 21A, and therefore the workingefficiency can be improved. Here, the first work is to move the elevatordevice 23 up and down, to pull out any required pallet 15 from thepallet accommodating shelf 17 onto the elevator device 23, to replenishthe pallet 15 with new bars B, and to return the pallet 15 into thepallet accommodating shelf 17. The second work is to supply a pluralityof bars B supported, through the pallet 15, on the pallet support table79 to the bar processing machine 3.

FIG. 8 shows a fifth embodiment of the bar storage apparatus of thepresent invention. In this fifth embodiment, the elevator device 23 isdisposed on the right side of the shelf frame 19 so as to be movable upand down. Further, the partition rollers are omitted from the pallet 15.The pallet 15 is moved to and fro by engaging its hook 29 with the hook71 of the traverser 21 to lift the side of the pallet 15 provided withthe hook 29.

Further, in this fifth embodiment, the bar supplying device 25 comprisesa bar lifting device 95 for lifting the bar B from the pallet 15 on theelevator device 23, and a bar feeding device 97 for feeding the bar B inthe longitudinal direction of the bar B.

In more detail, the bar lifting device 95 is composed of a plurality oflifting cylinders 99, an elongate lifting frame 101 moved up and down bythe lifting cylinders 99, and a plurality of push rods 103 arrangedvertically at regular intervals on the upper surface of the liftingframe 101. Further, a V-shaped groove is formed on the upper end surfaceof each of the push rods 103 to push up the bar B.

The bar feeding device 97 is provided with an elongate frame 109 movablein the right and left directions. This bar feeding device 97 issupported by a guide rail 105 via a plurality of guide rollers 107. Theguide rail 105 is fixed to the shelf frame 19 and extended in the rightand left direction.

On the right side of the movable frame 109, a plurality of horizontalsupport rollers 111 of cantilever type are arranged at regular intervalsso as to receive or support the bar B pushed up by the push rods 103.Further, a plurality of vertical rollers 113 are also arranged atregular intervals on the right side end of the movable frame 109.

The construction of the fifth embodiment other than the above is thesame as with the case of the already explained embodiments, so that thesame reference numerals have been retained for the similar parts orelements which have the same functions, without repeating any detaileddescription thereof.

In the fifth embodiment, the pallet 15 is pulled out of any requiredpallet accommodating shelf 17 by the traverser 21, and moved downward tothe lowermost position by the elevator device 23. Then, any required barB on the pallet 15 is positioned over the bar lifting device 95 by thetraverser 21.

Thereafter, the lifting cylinder 99 of the bar lifting device 95 isactuated to lift the lifting frame 101, so that the bar B on the pallet15 can be pushed up by a plurality of the push rods 103.

While the bar B is being kept pushed up by the push-rods 103, themovable frame 109 of the bar feeding device 97 is shifted from the leftside position to the right side as shown in FIG. 8, so that thehorizontal support rollers 111 of the movable frame 109 are positionedunder the bar B lifted by the bar lifting device 95.

Accordingly, when the lifting frame 101 is lowered, the lifted rod B canbe supported by a plurality of the horizontal support rollers 111.Therefore, it is possible to feed and supply the bar B to the barprocessing machine 3 by rotating the horizontal support rollers 111 witha motor (not shown). Further, it is possible to return the residual barprocessed by the bar processing machine 3 to the pallet 15 by rotatingthe same motor in the reverse direction.

In this fifth embodiment, since the bar B lifted by the bar liftingdevice 95 is received by the bar feeding device 97 at the bar feedingposition, and the received bar B is further fed by the bar feedingdevice 97 from the bar feeding position to the bar processing machine 3,it is possible to obtain the same effect as with the case of the fourthembodiment.

FIG. 9 shows a sixth embodiment of the bar storage apparatus of thepresent invention. In this sixth embodiment, the elevator actuatingdevice 45 is disposed on the lower portion of the shelf frame 19.Further, the bar lifting device 95 and the bar feeding device 97 areboth disposed inside the shelf frame 19, respectively. The constructionother than the above is the same as with the case of the fifthembodiment, so that the same reference numerals have been retained forsimilar parts or elements which have the same functions, withoutrepeating any detailed description thereof.

In this sixth embodiment, the bar feeding device 97 is disposed insidethe shelf frame 19; thus, after any required bar B has been moved to thebar feeding device 97 and further supplied to the bar processing machine3, the following operation can be performed during the processing beingmade in the supplied bar B: to return the pallet 15 from the elevatordevice 23 to the original position (the pallet accommodating shelf 17)and further to prepare a new pallet 15 on the elevator device 23 or toreplenish the shelf frame 19 with new bars.

FIG. 10 shows a seventh embodiment of the bar storage apparatus of thepresent invention. In this seventh embodiment, a plurality of supportplates 115 for supporting the bars B is provided on the pallet 15 insuch a way as to align in the longitudinal direction of the bar B and tobe spaced from each other by a suitable distance. Further, a pluralityof support plates 117 are arranged under the movable plate 109 in such away as to align in the longitudinal direction of the bar B, to be spacedfrom each other by the suitable distance, and to be offset in horizontalposition from the support plates 115 of the pallet 15. Thus therespective support plates 115 of the pallet 15 can be moved into betweenthe two adjacent support plates 117 of the bar feeding device 97.Further, a horizontal support roller 111 and a vertical support rollerare rotatably provided at the end of each of the support plates 117,respectively.

Accordingly, in this embodiment, when the pallet 15 is moved in thearrow direction A to shift the bar B onto the horizontal support rollers111, and moved down in the arrow directions B and C, it is possible tomount the bar B directly from the pallet 115 onto the horizontal supportrollers 111. Thereafter, the pallet 15 is moved up in the arrowdirection D to return the original position. By repeating theabove-mentioned motion, the bar B on the pallet 15 can be mounted insequence on the horizontal support rollers 111.

Accordingly, in this seventh embodiment, when the bars B are mounted onthe pallet 15 in the order of processing of the bars B, it is possibleto feed or supply the bars B in sequence to the bar processing machine3.

FIG. 11 shows an eighth embodiment of the bar storage apparatus of thepresent Invention. In this eighth embodiment, the bar supplying device25 is composed of a bar lifting device 121 for lifting the bar B fromthe pallet 15, a bar conveying device 123 for receiving the bar B liftedby the bar lifting device 121 and further conveying the received bar Bin a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the bar B,and a bar feeding device 125 for feeding the bar B toward the barprocessing machine 3.

In more detail, the bar lifting device 121 has an elongate movable base127 movable in the right and left directions in FIG. 11. The movablebase 127 is provided with a plurality of rollers 129 at the lowerportion thereof, and a plurality of push rods 131 at the upper portion;the plurality of push rods 131 are arranged at appropriate regularintervals in the longitudinal direction of the bar B.

The bar conveying device 123 has a movable frame 135 movable along aguide rail 133 extending in the right and left directions. The movableframe 135 is provided with a fork-shaped bar receiving member 137 forreceiving the bar B which is lifted by the bar push rods 131. The barreceiving member 137 can be moved up and down by a lifting cylinder 139.

The bar feeding device 125 disposed inside the shelf frame 19 iscomposed of a base 141, a plurality of brackets 143 arranged verticallyon the base 141 at regular intervals, and a support roller 145 and avertical roller 147 both provided at the upper portion of each of thebrackets 143, respectively.

In the construction as described above, before any required pallet 15 ispulled onto the elevator device 23 and further lowered, the bar liftingdevice 121 is moved in the right and left direction to such a positionas to correspond to the required bar B on the pallet 15.

Thereafter, when the elevator device 23 is lowered to the lowermostposition, since the lifting rods 131 project beyond the upper surface ofthe pallet 15, the required bar B is pushed upward relative to thepallet 15. Then, the bar conveying device 123 is moved to the positionof the bar lifting device 121 so that the bar receiving member 137 ismoved under the bar B. Thereafter, the bar receiving member 137 islifted by the lifting cylinder 139 to receive the bar B on the barreceiving member 137.

Thereafter, the bar conveying device 123 is returned to the positionwhere the bar feeding device 125 is disposed. The bar receiving member137 is lowered, so that the bar B can be mounted on the support rollers145 of the bar feeding device 125. Therefore, it is possible to feed thebar B in the longitudinal direction toward the bar processing machine 3by rotating the support rollers 145 of the bar feeding device 125.

In this eighth embodiment, it is possible to pull out any requiredpallet 15 from the pallet accommodating shelf 17 and further to supplythe pulled-out bar B to the bar processing machine 3. Further, thepallet 15 can be returned to the original position (in the palletaccommodating shelf 17) while the bar B is being supplied to andprocessed by the bar processing machine 3. Further, it is also possibleto pull out an empty pallet 15 onto the elevator device 23 forreplenishment of the pallet 15 with new rods, in the same way as withthe case of the afore-mentioned embodiments.

FIG. 12 shows a ninth embodiment of the bar storage apparatus accordingto the present invention. In this embodiment, a lifting cylinder 149 ismounted on the movable base 127 of the bar lifting device 121 of theeighth embodiment in order to move the bar push rods 131 up and down.

Further, the bar conveying device 123 and the bar feeding device 125 ofthe eighth embodiment are combined and used in common. That is, themovable frame 135 of the bar conveying device 123 has a fork-shapedsupport member 151, and the support rollers 145 and the vertical rollers147 are provided on the fork-shaped support member 151.

In this embodiment, after the support rollers 145 have been positionedunder the bar B lifted by the push rods 131 of the bar lifting device121, when the push rods 131 are lowered, it is possible to mount the barB directly on the support rollers 145.

As described above, after the bar B has been supported by the supportrollers 145, the movable frame 135 is shifted to and located at theoriginal position corresponding to the bar processing machine 3. Underthese conditions, when the support rollers 145 are rotated, it ispossible to supply the bar B to the bar processing machine 3.

In this ninth embodiment, the construction can be simplified as comparedwith that of the eighth embodiment.

FIG. 13 shows a tenth embodiment of the bar storage apparatus of thepresent invention. In this embodiment, a bar lifting device 153 isdisposed at an appropriate position inside the shelf frame 19. A barfeeding device 155 is composed of a movable frame 159 movable alongguide rails 157 fixed to the shelf frame 19 and extending in the rightand left directions, an elongate lifting frame 163, a plurality oflifting cylinders 161 for moving the elongate lifting frame 163 up anddown, and a plurality of horizontal support rollers 145 and a pluralityof vertical support rollers 147 rotatably attached to the lifting frame163, respectively.

The bar lifting device 153 is composed of an elongate lifting frame 167moved up and down by a plurality of lifting cylinders 165 and aplurality of lifting rods 169 arranged at regular intervals on the uppersurface of the lifting frame 167.

In this tenth embodiment, the pallet 15 on the elevator device 23 ismoved into the shelf frame 19 along the guide rails 171, and located atsuch a position that a required bar B on the pallet 15 can be placedover the bar lifting device 153.

Thereafter, the required bar B on the pallet 15 is lifted by the pushrods 169 of the bar lifting device 153.

Then, the movable frame 159 is moved along the guide rails 157 so thatthe support rollers 145 can be moved under the bar B lifted by the pushrods 169, and further the bar push rod 169 is lowered to pass the bar Bto the support rollers 145. Subsequently, the movable frame 159 isreturned to the original position, and the lifting frame 163 is moved upand down so that the height of the support rollers 145 correspond tothat of the bar processing machine 3. Thereafter, when the supportrollers 145 are rotated, it is possible to feed and supply the bar B tothe bar processing machine 3.

The tenth embodiment as described above is also provided with the sameeffects as with the case of the afore-mentioned embodiments.

FIG. 14 shows an eleventh embodiment of the bar storage apparatus of thepresent invention. In this eleventh embodiment, the eighth embodimentshown in FIG. 11 and the tenth embodiment shown in FIG. 13 are combinedwith each other.

In more detail, the bar lifting device 153 and the bar feeding device173 similar to the bar feeding device 125 of the eighth embodiment shownin FIG. 11 are both provided at appropriate positions inside the shelfframe 19. In addition, the bar conveying device 175 similar to the barconveying device 123 in FIG. 11 is provided.

In the bar feeding device 173 and the bar conveying device 175, the samereference numerals have been retained for the similar parts or elementsas with the case of the bar feeding device 125 and the bar conveyingdevice 123, without repeating any detailed description thereof.

In this embodiment, the bar B lifted by the lifting rods 169 of the barlifting device 153 is received by the bar receiving member 137 of thebar conveying device 175, and further shifted onto the support rollers145 of the bar feeding device 173. This embodiment is also provided withthe same effects as with the case of the afore-mentioned embodiments.

FIG. 15 shows an twelfth embodiment of the bar storage apparatus of thepresent invention. In this twelfth embodiment, the bar receiving member137 of the bar conveying device 175 of the eleventh embodiment shown inFIG. 14 is divided into two upper and lower members (first and secondbar supporting portions) 137A and 137B, respectively.

The upper side bar receiving member (the first bar supporting portion)137A is used to supply the bar B onto the bar feeding device 173, andthe lower side bar receiving member (the second bar supporting portion)37B is used to take the residual bar from the bar feeding device 173.

In more detail, when the bar B is to be supplied to the bar feedingdevice 173, the bar B lifted by the push rods 169 of the bar liftingapparatus 153 is received by the upper side bar receiving member 137.Further, the bar B is mounted on the bar feeding device 173 in the sameway as with the case of the eleventh embodiment shown in FIG. 14.

Here, when the bar B on the upper side bar receiving member 137A ismounted on the bar feeding device 173, if the residual bar has beenalready returned on the bar feeding device 173, the residual bar isfirst received by the lower side bar receiving member 137B and thenshifted onto the push rods 169 of the bar lifting device 153.

Thereafter, the rod B on the upper side bar receiving member 137A ismounted onto the bar feeding device 173. As described above, it ispossible to mount the succeeding bar B quickly onto the bar feedingdevice 173.

FIG. 16 shows a thirteenth embodiment of the bar storage apparatus ofthe present invention. In this thirteenth embodiment, the supportrollers 145 of the bar feeding device 73 are constructed as being ofcantilever type, and the upper side bar receiving member 137A and thelower side bar receiving member 137B are separated from each other by asuitable distance for the support roller 145 supporting a bar B to befreely placed between the upper and lower side bar receiving members137A and 137B.

In this embodiment, the support rollers 145 are of cantilever type.Thus, when the succeeding bar B is supported on the upper side barreceiving member 137A of the bar receiving member 137, for example, itis possible to receive the residual bar on the bar feeding device 173 bythe lower side bar receiving member 137B. Further, thereafter it ispossible to mount the bar B on the upper side bar receiving member 137Aonto the support rollers 145, by moving the lower side bar receivingmember 137B under the support rollers 145 while the residual bar isbeing kept supported on the lower side bar receiving member 137B.

In this embodiment, before the residual bar is returned onto the pallet15, the succeeding bar B can be mounted on the bar feeding device 173,so that it is possible to convey the bar B onto and from the bar feedingdevice 173 more quickly.

In the afore-mentioned embodiments, it is assumed that bars B includingresidual ones are arranged on the pallet 15 in parallel to each other.However, in this arrangement, when the shortened residual bars arereturned to and arranged on the pallet 15 in parallel to each other, thepallet availability is not high. To overcome this problem, it ispossible to mount a plurality of the shortened residual bars in serieson the pallet 15.

In order to mount and arrange a plurality of residual bars on the pallet15 in series and further the mounted residual bars can be supplied againto the bar processing machine 3, it is possible to move up and down eachor a group of the bar push rods of the bar lifting device independentlyor separately in the respective embodiments as shown in FIGS. 11 to 16,respectively.

With the bar lifting device constructed as described above, it ispossible to selectively lift a required residual bar from a plurality ofresiduals on the pallet, by the push rods corresponding to the requiredresidual bar, and thereby the pallet 15 can be used more effectively.

As described above, in the bar storage apparatus of the presentinvention, it is possible to pull out any required pallet 15 from thepallet accommodating shelf 17, and to supply any required bar B mountedon the pallet 15 to the bar processing machine 3 automatically. Thus, agreat number of bars B of various kinds and dimensions can be storedpreviously, and further any required bars can be selectively supplied tothe bar processing machine 3 easily; this in turn enables the barprocessing to be automatized and the labor required for bar processingto be saved.

What is claimed is:
 1. A bar storage apparatus for supplying bars to abar processing machine, comprising:a shelf frame having a plurality ofpallet accommodating shelves arranged vertically; an elevator devicedisposed on one side of said shelf frame so as to be movable up anddown, the shelves and the elevator device accommodating pallets; atraverser for moving a pallet between the pallet accommodating shelf andthe elevator device, and between the elevator device and a predeterminedposition; a bar lifting device for lifting the bar upwardly from aposition of the pallet located at the predetermined position; a barconveying device for receiving the bar from the bar lifting device andconveying the received bar in a lateral direction of the bar; and a barfeeding device for receiving the bar from the bar conveying device andfeeding the received bar in a longitudinal direction of the bar.
 2. Thebar storage apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said bar conveyingdevice (175) includes a first bar supporting portion (137A) forsupporting a first bar (B), and a second bar supporting portion (137B)for supporting a second bar (B).
 3. The bar storage apparatus accordingto claim 2, wherein the pallet (15) has a lattice structure.
 4. The barstorage apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pallet (15) has alattice structure.
 5. The bar storage apparatus of claim 4, wherein thepallet (15) is formed with grooves (15G) each for stably supporting thebar (B).
 6. The bar storage apparatus of claim 1, wherein the barfeeding device (173) is provided with a plurality of feeding rollers(145) of cantilever type, and the first bar supporting portion (137A)and the second bar supporting portion (137B) are separated from eachother by a suitable distance so that the feeding roller (145) supportinga bar (B) is freely placed between the first and second bar supportingportions (137A, 137B).